##ymbolic Symbols In Alice Walkers Everyday Use

In Alice Walker’s short story â€Å"Everyday Use† the author uses symbolic objects to represent something larger than what it may seem which becomes a shortcut to the overall theme of the story. Both the daughters and mama each have different views on what the symbolic meaning is. The narrator who is also known as Mama tells the story which has to do with the identity and ancestry. The symbolic item in this story are the hand-stitched quilts, and the story takes off when the daughter, Dee, sees the hand-stitched quilts to be something that is fashionable and not as something that should be seen as very valuable. The quilts are known to be very unique and seen as authentic art. Many critics have analyzed the story focusing on different areas of†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"I can ‘member Grandma Dee without the quilts† is what Maggie says to her sister, which shows Maggie’s value of family. Both critics believe the ongoing tradition of quilting must be represented through the generations of quilting and the background history or it all. Where the quilt came from is the most important value. The quilts contains passed down stories whereas they form a link between the generations (Weidmann 260). The quilts are intended to form the value of heritage. An item that is valuable is seen as something of great worth and something that has meaning. In the story the daughter Dee accuses her mother and sister as being â€Å"backward enough to put them to everyday use† (153). Sam Whitsitt goes on to say that Dee herself doe not know they system of values herself and does not understand the value behind the quilts as the mother and daughter Maggie does (456). The quilt is meant to be a representation of value through things that do not get sold or wander of, they are meant to stay in the house to hold their value, but the daughter Dee saw the quilts as a commodity rather than what they should really be seen for (Whitsitt, 455). David Cowart, who sees the same concept as Whitsitt states the quits represent a heritage the daughter Dee cannot understand because she already discarded it (179). The overall tradition of quilting is meant to be a preservation of the true heritage (Cowart, 183). The quilts are seen as things